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Loading your washing machine correctly can give you a much better wash, while also cutting down on waste. So how can you make sure you always load your washing machine properly?

Your first step when it comes to machine washing must always be sorting. Whites, dark colours, light colours and delicates should be separated out and washed separately. For larger loads, sort by colour shade. You should also check their fabric care labels to make sure they need no special treatment.

One extra tip: check all pockets to make sure no tissues, gum, coins, or anything else gets into the drum.

A full load

It’s worth waiting until you have a full load worth of clothes to throw into the washing machine first, though. If you don’t fill up the machine, then you’re just wasting electricity and water. If you can, wait until you can wash a full load. Otherwise, take advantage of your machine’s half load setting, if it has one. An easy way to do this is with the 1-palm trick.

Dose it right

While you load, it’s also important to dose detergents correctly. It doesn’t matter if you load perfectly if you add too much or too little detergent.

It’s important to make sure you get the right amount of Ariel detergent into the wash for effective stain removal, so pay attention to the dosing instructions. If you’re running a half load, use less detergent, and pay attention to your water hardness and the dirtiness of your garments.

When you load in the clothes, you should be able to fit one hand into the top of the drum. If you can’t, take out something. If there’s too much space, add something else or consider waiting until you can do a full wash.